


Level One

by beaglesinbowties (Girlblunder)



Series: It's all fun and games until somebody falls in love [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Comedy, F/F, Friendship, Gamer!Kara, Mild Sexual Content, Romance, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 15:05:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6912106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlblunder/pseuds/beaglesinbowties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being trapped in the dorms for years, Kara's finally moved out on her own. Well, mostly. Alex has moved in with her to ease Eliza's mind, but things definitely aren't how they used to be.</p><p>For one, Kara spends most of her time gaming on her PC when she's free from classes. It's a bit of an adjustment for both Alex and Kara, but Kara's happy either way. They're not teenagers sharing a room any more, and there's definitely a learning curve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Level One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, this is a little complicated. This was a small ficlet prompt voted on my Patrons that I intended to write this as a very short ficlet, but it kind of...blew up. I'm not really comfortable tackling another multi-chapter story right now, so here we have a compromise.
> 
> I've started a series of one shots that will take place in this same universe. There might be a new one-shot added to it every month or so, I can't say what frequency they'll take place. If *that* wasn't complicated enough, this fic probably also isn't meant for everyone.
> 
> I'm a bit of a gamer, and I've always wanted to write something related to that. Kara has proven to be a perfect character for this. The lingo as well as formatting here might be confusing - those of you that DO game might not even be familiar with Twitch, or how live game streaming works. There's messenger and chat interaction here, and hopefully it's not too confusing of a format for everyone.
> 
> Well, for all three of you that are probably interested in something like this...I hope you enjoy! xD

* * *

Kara sighs as she reads the patch notes of her favorite game, frowning at some of the changes. “They still haven’t fixed the bug with berserk,” she mutters, “but they added three new pets? Ugh.”

She pulls up her blinking messenger window, typing out her displeasure.

 _[4:57]_ **Super_G** : Did you see the patch notes??? FML  
_[4:57]_ **allidoiswinn** : Yeah, sucks for you. Paladins were buffed. *dances*  
_[4:58]_ **Super_G** : Shut up. Paladins suck. Especially you.  
_[4:58]_ **allidoiswinn** : I’m sorry? I can’t hear you over the sound of my INCREASED STRENGTH. It’s hard having all these muscles, you know?  
_[4:58]_ **Super_G** : ...  
_[4:59]_ **Super_G** : Winn, a 74 year old lady pushed you out of line at Subway the other day.  
_[4:59]_ **allidoiswinn** : I still maintain that she was obviously on steroids. And was probably only in her 60s.  
_[4:59]_ **Super_G** : Right. Sure, Jan.  
_[5:00]_ **allidoiswinn** : I hate you.  
_[5:00]_ **Super_G** : You say the sweetest things. ♥

“Hey, Kara? Do you think you can pull yourself away from your game long enough to get your laundry?” Alex sounds like she’s twelve kinds of aggravated.

Kara stands and tugs at her ponytail, wondering if she’d accidentally been ignoring Alex again. “For your information, I was just chatting with Winn. The game is down for maintenance.”

She turns from her desk nook and meanders over to the kitchen table, where an impatient Alex is hoarding two baskets of laundry.

Alex shakes her head, her short hair swaying with the movement. “And yet you still find ways to stay on the computer. Did you know it’s actually a really beautiful day out?”

“Yes, I had class this morning,” Kara relays haughtily as she accepts a laundry basket. “Thanks for drying my stuff, by the way.”

The displeased look on Alex’s face softens as she shrugs. “Yeah, no problem.”

There’s an awkward pause. Kara shifts the laundry basket so it’s propped against her hip. “Your mom called again.”

Alex looks away and combs a hand through her hair. “Yeah? What’d she want?”

Kara shrugs. “She was just checking in on us.” There’s another awkward pause. “I wanted to thank you, by the way.”

“You already thanked me.” Alex is looking back at her again now, an eyebrow raised as she looks down at the white laundry basket in Kara’s grasp.

“Not for that, for moving here. I know you liked your old place.” It’s Kara’s turn to look away. She’s partly embarrassed and mostly grateful, but she still feels that Alex must resent her for being forced to move.

“I liked my old place, but this one isn’t so bad. I know my mom was being kind of ridiculous about you moving out from the dorms.”

Kara ducks her head down and bites her lip, focusing on the black and white print on Alex’s babydoll t-shirt rather than her face.

“Hey,” Alex says softly as she raises a hand to rest on Kara’s shoulder.

The gentle squeeze makes Kara look up. She takes a shaky breath when she sees the tender look Alex is giving her.

“I’m here because I want to be, okay?”

Alex looks so confident that Kara can only nod. “Okay.”

When Alex smiles, Kara’s world tilts a little off axis. She swings the laundry basket from her hip so that it’s resting protectively between them. Alex’s hand drops.

“It would be great if you could spend a little less time on your computer though, Kara. My mom said you looked too pale on our last visit. I know you have friends here.” Alex still sounds patient, but Kara can hear a hint of irritation.

“Can we not argue about this? I have friends, but I don’t exactly have much in the way of cash. Gaming is a cheap way to hang out. Plus I can stay in my jammies.” Kara helpfully pulls at the fabric of her spiderman print pajama bottoms with her right hand.

Alex pinches at the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes, muttering something under her breath that Kara can’t decipher.

“Look, it’s really not that bad. The game is fun and requires strategy. It’s not like I’m totally zoned out watching TV all day or anything.” The annoyance she usually feels when she has to explain this to others is absent, and Kara figures it must be because she _knows_ Alex just cares about her.

“I just don’t want you to miss out on anything. I worry about you.” Alex’s hands settle on her hips as she mulls something over. “What if you just come out with me a couple of times a week? My treat.”

“What? No. I can’t have you paying for everything. I’m fine.” Kara pulls the laundry basket up and hugs it closer to her chest.

Alex tilts her head, a small furrow settled between her brows. “Please, Kara? We’ll just grab sandwiches and hang out at the park or something.”

“Only if you agree to try my game,” Kara blurts out. It’s hard for her to think when Alex looks at her that way. Though Alex has always complained that Kara has lethal puppy eyes, Kara has always felt that Alex underestimates her own.

Alex rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Fine, but don’t think you can weasel your way out of this.”

Despite the spontaneous nature of her invite, Kara is thrilled. She wiggles excitedly, turning to her room. “I’m gonna put my laundry away and then I’m downloading the game onto your laptop.”

She grins when Alex releases long beleaguered groan.

*****

An hour later, Kara is fighting to hide a smile. Though Alex normally does her course work tucked away in her room, she’s seated at the kitchen table with a focused look on her face.

Kara’s a much higher level than Alex is, but she’s been peeking at her friend’s list and been keeping an eye on Alex’s steadily rising levels. “Hey, I’m gonna send you an invite to give you some gear and stuff.”

“I can get my own gear,” Alex says absently.

Kara has to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh. “You still can. This is just to help you out a little. I’ve also got bigger bags for you.”

Alex tears her gaze away from her laptop and quirks a brow at Kara. “The default bag space sucks.”

“I know. Come on, accept the invite. I’ve got to log off soon.” Kara clicks a few times and is pleased when Alex’s character appears next to her. She blinks once. Twice. Laughter bubbles up before she can stop it. “Alex, you can be pretty much anything in this game, and you choose to make a human that looks _exactly like you_?”

“She has white hair,” Alex declares defensively.

Kara shakes her head, but doesn’t say more. She initiates a trade and is pleased when Alex accepts the gear and bags without protest. “There, now I can start dinner.”

“You’re going to cook?” Alex asks in a voice that’s too high pitched for Kara’s liking.

“Hey, I can _so_ cook. I thought you might like more time on the game.” Kara’s trying very hard to remember why she wanted to be nice to Alex. She can _totally_ cook.

“Let’s cook together, I could use a break anyway.” Alex logs out and is standing up before Kara can respond.

“Fine,” Kara says as she huffs out an offended breath.

With the two of them working together in the small kitchen, the preparations for the dinner are complete within forty-five minutes.

Kara hums as she cuts into her chicken breast, spearing a piece of broccoli before adding the chicken to her fork.

“So, when do you wanna hang out?” Alex asks between bites.

“Mm, well I work tomorrow,” Kara pauses as she chews and thinks. “Maybe you can meet me for lunch after my second class?”

“I thought you only had a twenty minute break between your classes?” Alex’s eyes narrow.

“Well, yeah, but I figured you could just pick up the sandwiches and meet me.” Kara forces her eyes wide in a faux innocent look.

“I spent like an hour on your game, and you’re telling me I only get a measly twenty minutes? Nope. You’re hanging out with me Saturday, too,” Alex states brusquely.

Kara frowns. “But I stream my game on Saturdays.”

Alex’s eye visibly twitches. “You don’t _have_ to.”

“I’m just building up a fanbase, Alex. It helps. Sometimes they buy me food or something or just make random donations to my paypal, it’s cool. I need to be consistent.” Kara is trying very hard not to be annoyed. Streaming in the dorm had only been a problem because of the finicky net, her roommate had usually been out on weekends. It had been the only good thing about Siobhan.

She braces herself when Alex looks away, ready for a lecture that would surely rival Eliza’s if Eliza knew she was allowing strangers to watch her play games online.

“Can’t you start a little later or end a little sooner? We have a deal, Kara.” Alex is looking at her steadily, no judgement on her face.

Kara relaxes. Alex is being reasonable, and they _do_ have a deal. “Okay, I’ll put the change in schedule up on my Twitch page and also send a tweet out to my followers.”

“Thanks, Kara,” Alex says with a warm smile.

Kara nearly stabs herself with her fork. “No problem,” she blurts out before shoving a forkful of mashed potato into her mouth.

*****

“Gah, take that! Who said hydras were strong in this game? Not me. That is one dead hydra.” Kara worries for a half second if she’s a little too happy about killing the boss, but then shrugs. It’s just a game, and it’s helpful to release some of her anger.

As she ports back to her home, she glances over at the chat for her stream.

She forces a smile on her face when she sees a particular question. “Yeah, sorry about that. I _thought_ I was going to start streaming later than usual today, but my roommate canceled on me at the last second. We were supposed to hang out and have lunch together.”

Kara thinks she does a good job at framing her upset about missing out on food.

 _[12:47]_ **kawaii917** : o snap, your roommate’s in trouble now. how dare she not feed you!  
_[12:47]_ **jim_bob_jones** : dude, she could have at least sent you a pizza  
_[12:48]_ **kawaii917** : totally!

Kara smiles. A few of her regulars had caught the alert for her stream and are already watching her gameplay. It’s nice having people she can count on to tune in. “You guys are awesome, but I think I’m going to have to find something to eat. I hope there’s something left in the fridge.”

She makes a point of looking into her webcam as she rubs at her belly. “I’m suuuper hungry.”

As she’s about to tug off her headphones to go search for food, an alert catches her attention.

_allidoiswinn has donated $13.37! - Get some pizza!_

Kara covers her face with her hand and laughs, enjoying as the cookie monster reaction gif plays in the corner. “Winn, you jerk! You’ll be eating ramen for the next two weeks if you keep that up!”

 _[12:54]_ **(admin)allidoiswinn** : worth it!  
_[12:54]_ **kawaii917** _:_ winn your crush is showing  
_[12:54]_ **jim_bob_jones** _:_ his name should be allidoissuckup  
_[12:55]_ **(admin)** **allidoiswinn** : shut up, i’ll time you out

“Play nice,” Kara says as she removes her headphones and stands up. Pizza is tempting, but Kara will see if there’s anything left to eat in the kitchen first. She doesn’t want to spend Winn’s money.

She’s barely opened the refrigerator when she hears the sound of the front door being opened. Kara stiffens and does her best to look busy.

“Kara?” Alex calls out from the front hallway.

Kara doesn’t respond, instead trying to decide if she wants cereal or to make a sandwich.

“There you are,” Alex says with a relieved breath. Her voice is much closer now, and Kara knows she’s barely a few feet away.

Kara still doesn’t respond.

“Kara, I’m _so_ sorry I had to cancel. Dr. Krull called me to help her out with something at the lab, and she almost never asks any of her grad students for help.”

It’s difficult for Kara to pretend she’s alone, but she really doesn’t want to talk to Alex right now. She doesn’t want to admit how much she was looking forward to hanging out with Alex, or how upset the cancelation really made her.

She wishes that their apartment was a little bigger, that it wasn’t just essentially one large room with the counter separating the kitchen from the living area; she could have used a few moments to herself upon Alex’s arrival.

“Please don’t ignore me,” Alex says softly. “I really am sorry. I _hate_ letting you down.”

Kara’s shoulders slump and she closes the refrigerator. She wasn’t really focusing on its contents anyway, and she knows Alex really wouldn’t have canceled if she could have helped it.

She turns and opens her mouth to tell Alex that it’s okay, only to find a very large pizza box being held up in her immediate view. She stares down in awe at box from her favorite pizza place.

“Double cheese, double pepperoni,” Alex supplies helpfully.

“I love you so much,” Kara says as she accepts the box reverently.

She tears her gaze away from the pizza and her chest swells with emotion at the crooked smile of relief Alex is wearing. Kara reaches out with a long arm to set the box down and pull Alex into a hug, sighing happily when it’s immediately returned.

“I was really looking forward to hanging out,” Kara mumbles just before the hug ends.

“I know.” Alex smiles up at her, cupping her cheek and brushing a thumb softly over her cheekbone. “I promise I won’t cancel next time.”

Kara swallows and nods, relieved when Alex drops her hand.

Alex turns and retrieves some plates and napkins, heaping two large slices on each plate. “Come on, I know you’re probably gaming. I’ll log on too.”

Kara’s stomach flutters as she accepts the plate and Alex’s fingers brush hers. She remembers she’s standing in the middle of the kitchen when Alex walks away, and Kara has to shake her head to focus.

She wanders back over to her computer, absently taking a bite of her pizza and watching as Alex retrieves her laptop and settles down at the kitchen table.

She turns away when Alex sends her a smile, shoving a large piece of pizza into her mouth and trying not to blush.

It’s only then that Kara remembers that she’s streaming. Her eyes widen when she sees the chat.

 _[1:07]_ **kawaii917** : holy crap, is that her roommate?  
_[1:07]_ **jim_bob_jones** : dude she’s got pizza  
_[1:07]_ **cthuluwasright_** : 10/10 would bang  
_[1:07]_ **SynergyGaming101** : jfc i want 2 live in ur apartment building  
_[1:08]_ **(admin)allidoiswinn** : keep it clean guys  
_[1:08]_ **jim_bob_jones** : watevs, allidoisbuzzkill  
_[1:09]_ **kawaii917** : wait are they hugging? are they lesbians? plz b lesbians  
_[1:09]_ **jim_bob_jones** : no no kawaii they’re “roommates” brah  
_[1:09]_ **kawaii917** : SHE STROKED HER CHEEK  
_[1:09]_ **cthuluwasright_** : they should kiss  
_cthuluwasright_ has been timed out for 600 seconds  
__[1:10]_ **jim_bob_jones** : lololol rip. winn doesn’t like the competition.

Kara’s face gets red and she can’t read any more of the chat. She sends a wide eyed look at the cam. “Guys,” she says in a plaintive voice.

“Did you say something, Kara?” Alex asks before taking a bite of her pizza.

“Nope. No. Definitely did not say anything.” Kara panics and shoves a large piece of crust into her mouth. “Ah ush en-oy-in ish issha.”

She makes a show of happily chewing, bobbing her head in an effort to show that everything is definitely and totally normal.

Luckily since they’d spent a few years cooped up in the same room before Alex had graduated, Alex is used to her _unique_ tendencies.

Alex shakes her head and chews placidly at her food, allowing Kara to breathe a sigh of relief.

She’s scarcely turned back to her monitor when she hears a hissed “shit” from behind.

Alex is scowling down at her shirt where a large gloop of tomato sauce has caught over her right breast. “I need to rinse this before it sets.”

Kara only has a second to react when Alex stands and begins tugging at the bottom of her shirt.

Kara turns desperately and knocks her webcam off the top of her monitor, scrambling to make sure it’s facing away. She knows there’s no way Alex hasn’t noticed her clumsy attempt to keep strangers from seeing Alex in her underwear.

Sure enough, when Kara turns again, Alex is standing before her shirtless with her hands on her hips. She’s frowning down at Kara. “Kara, is there something you need to tell me?”

And Kara’s eyes are wide as she tries very hard to focus on Alex’s face and not the soft black fabric of her bra. “Um, y-you’re, uh,” Kara stutters. Her hands grip the bottom of her chair tightly. She swallows. “Um, aren’t you, um, cold? Maybe you...shirt. On.”

“Are you okay?” Alex’s frown is deeper now, and she reaches out a hand to touch Kara’s forehead.

Kara has to close her eyes as the black bra, and the soft flesh it contains, moves even closer to her face. She has flashbacks to high school and sharing a room with her best friend-cum-foster sister. Things hadn’t been as difficult then. She’d been dealing with a lot, and she’d chalked up the odd tension in her abdomen around Alex to shyness.

That was then. Unfortunately Kara had been clued in to her feelings the first summer Alex had returned home after leaving for college. Alex in her swimsuit after the time away had been a revelation, and the start of Kara deciding that staying indoors was just better for everyone. She could only stutter over Alex’s abs so many times before _someone_ caught on.

“I’m fine,” Kara manages to squeak out after a few heart pounding moments.

“You sure?” Alex still looks concerned, absently brushing some of Kara’s hair back behind her ear.

Kara has to stifle a content sigh at the contact. “Yep. I’m fine, totally fine.”

Alex brings up her other hand so that she’s cradling Kara’s head with both, turning it gently from side to side. “Good, be sure and tell your audience that.”

A high pitched yelp escapes Kara’s throat. “You knew?”

“Not until you knocked your webcam off. Some warning would've been nice.” Alex hikes a brow up at Kara.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were going to start taking your clothes off!” Kara blinks and drops her hand when she realizes she’s started wagging her finger at Alex.

Alex shrugs. “What? You’ve seen me in less.”

Kara covers her face with her hand, trying to hide her flaming cheeks. “Please just go get dressed.”

“When did you get so shy?” Alex asks as she turns away and heads to her room.

Kara doesn’t move until the door is shut firmly behind Alex. She carefully retrieves her webcam, inspecting it for damage and settling it into place, trying to delay looking at the screen.

 _[1:18]_ **kawaii917** : LESBIANS  
_[1:18]_ **jim_bob_jones** : i hope they’re making out  
_[1:18]_ **SynergyGaming101** : def lesbians  
_[1:19]_ **(admin)allidoiswinn** : she’s not gay  
_[1:19]_ **jim_bob_jones** : so lesbians  
_[1:19]_ **supatroopa** : best stream ever  
_[1:19]_ **SynergyGaming101** : agreed  
_[1:20]_ **cthuluwasright_** : i vote she streams with her roommate every time. maybe next time they can both lose their shirts.  
_cthuluwasright_ has been banned from the channel  
__[1:20]_ **kawaii917** : i’m so happy rn. yuri is so beautiful. ;-;

Kara can’t bear to look at the chat anymore. She’s embarrassed solely because her viewers have clearly picked up on something that should be innocent, but isn’t because she can’t control her own damn hormones around Alex - especially not a shirtless Alex.

“Well, I think this break has been long enough. Time to crawl some dungeons on my berserker!” Kara announces in an overly cheerful voice.

Her character has been automatically logged out after such a long delay, but Kara feels a little more settled once the game has loaded again. It’s easy to lose herself in the fantasy world, and she feels totally comfortable again by the time Alex is settled back at her laptop.

Kara has her headphones half off just in case Alex needs something, but it isn’t until she’s defeated another dungeon boss that the mostly silent room is disturbed.

“You should really tell your viewers that you’re bisexual. Being with a woman doesn’t negate the fact that you’re also attracted to men sometimes.”

The equilibrium that Kara has carefully crafted is gone in an instant, and she buries her face in both hands. She’d forgotten that she’d showed Alex her Twitch page when Alex had first moved in two weeks ago.

Out of a sense of macabre curiosity, Kara checks her Twitch chat.

 _[1:49]_ **kawaii917** : YURI CONFIRMED  
_[1:49]_ **supatroopa** : i’m in love  
_[1:49]_ **(admin)allidoiswinn** : ಥ_ಥ  
_[1:49]_ **SynergyGaming101** : this is a beautiful thing  
_[1:50]_ **jim_bob_jones** : i really like ur gf

“I quit life,” Kara mumbles as she thumps her head down onto her keyboard. “Ow.”

The pain fades when she hears Alex laughing in the background. Kara finds herself smiling despite her discomfort.

She peeks back and her breath catches when she sees the size of Alex’s smile. Teasing aside, Kara really loves having Alex as a roommate. “What level are you? I have a level 17 monk.”

Alex is still grinning as she focuses on her screen. “Oh, hm. I’m level 14 now.”

“Good enough,” Kara says as she logs out of her main character and swaps to her alt. “Come on, let’s play.”

Kara ignores the Twitch chat for the rest of the time she plays with Alex, but she’s smiling the entire time. She pokes out her tongue at her webcam before logging for the evening, knowing that the jests from her viewers are mostly in good fun. Winn bans the real troublemakers, and some of her fans have been watching her since she first started streaming several months prior.

Later, as she and Alex are relaxing together on the couch and catching up on some shows, Alex pauses iZombie to glance at Kara. “Maybe we can set up another desk next to yours. I’d prefer not having to shout to you when we play.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kara agrees quickly in surprise.

She sighs softly when Alex’s head slumps against her shoulder. “We’re going out for brunch tomorrow though, I spent a ton of time on that game today.”

Kara considers arguing schedules and such, but she really doesn’t want to. She loves that Alex is trying to find a compromise in how they spend their time, and she loves that Alex is always just so _great_. She just…

“I love you, Alex.”

The words come out heavier than she intends, and Alex sits up a little and peers closely at her face. Kara’s heart feels like it’s in her throat.

Alex smiles at whatever she does or doesn’t find in Kara’s face - Kara has no clue what it looks like right now - and brushes a soft kiss to Kara’s cheek.

“I love you too, Kara.”

Kara takes a shaky breath when Alex’s head settles back on her shoulder, not sure what just happened but happy all the same.

They’ve only been living together a few weeks and Kara is looking forward to her next adventures with Alex, whatever they might be.


End file.
